Shakti is a woman with a reputation. It precedes her at every venue: "Some people walk out after one minute," she says, "and I haven't done anything yet."

Her dances are notorious: "A frenzied mixture of sushi and curry" according to one critic.

Shakti's mother was a Japanese dancer, her father an Indian philosopher. Wearing G-strings is her own idea.

This weekend marks the performer's fifth year at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and her first performance in Australia since Adelaide became her home.

Granted permanent residency in December, Shakti's message to her detractors is clear.

"They'd better get used to me," she says firmly, "because I'm not leaving."

Shakti's first show, Dances of India, is unlikely to raise eyebrows, except, that is, her own.

Fully clothed, in a traditional sari, her costume reveals little more than quivering eyebrows, expressive hands and reams of whirling cloth.

Her Creation Myth of Japan is racier. Down comes the hair, out pop the buttocks and on goes the G-string.

At times, she writhes; at others, pumps her hips like a "tums-and-bums" teacher on acid.

By her own admission, her third show, The Pillow Book, with its heady mix of eroticism, body paint and pubic hair, will get the strongest reaction.

"I don't intend to shock people: I do it and it has a shock effect. For those who understand themselves, it's not shocking: it's exhilarating. The people who are shocked are the ones who are repressed or suppressed by morals or taboos.

"They are shocked because they want it, but they can't get it yet."

"It," according to Shakti, is "energy and freedom". What critics have described as "glorified pole-dancing" and "dirty Fringe dancing" is Shakti's way of encouraging her audience to face up to themselves.

"I sometimes wear traditional saris and people still say I'm wearing nothing. I think it is the feeling I put into it: an honest feeling.

"I bare my soul. I have nothing to hide. 'Do you have something to hide?' I'm asking. And many people do."

It's an argument that her critics are now starting to warm to. Ten years ago, Shakti's exploits on the Edinburgh Fringe earned her disapproval and ridicule.

Her sweaty shimmies and skimpy costumes were considered a running joke, with her nudity and gyrating hips generating a riot of critical metaphors: Shakti was a "lizard-tongued sexpot", "a camp Asian vamp", "a sacred monster".

Picture: Bryan Charlton

The past 12 months, however, have a seen a shift. The Pillow Book is now considered "a whirlwind of erotic joy" and a "glorious celebration of woman's sexuality".

Scotland's Glasgow Herald gave her show at the Edinburgh Fringe in August top billing, with five stars.

"I believe in what I do so it doesn't matter. I put myself in the category of Shakti."

Shakti knows she's hard to pigeonhole. A dancer with an MA in Indian Philosophy and a love of Tantric texts, she practised yoga from the age of three with her father in Japan.

She learnt Indian dance from her mother and later studied modern dance in New York under gurus including Martha Graham.

Her parents encouraged her to express her sexuality throughout movement: "shakti" means sexual energy in Sanskrit.

But some people find her work - philosphy dressed in a black, satin G-string - hard to tolerate although many are enthusiastic.

They've made the choice to see her perform. Others walk out in embarrassment or anger.

"I've had many, many people walk out. But one of the most satisfying things is that a lot of people walk back in.

"I remember one girl - she walked out of two shows and made a big deal out of it. She was making a statement. Finally, the third time she came back, she talked to me. She said the show upset her so much but moved something within her. She had to keep coming back until she understood it."

Even those in the know struggle with Shakti's unusual mix of eyebrows, sweat and saris.

Although Multicultural Arts Victoria is warming to her modern and erotic interpretation of traditional Indian dance, Melbourne's arts bodies, so far, have found her too hot to handle.

"No one wants to make the first move. The nudity shouldn't matter to them - I've seen other shows (where people) wear far less than I do. I guess my reputation precedes me. But isn't that what art is all about - to move people?"

Shakti performs at the Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre in Adelaide from Saturday until March 13, as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival.